h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

... and deserves extra-credit points!!!

Golly gee, Dragonfly. Thanks./

::nods:: it's such intense homework that my little short-attention span felt overwhelmed!!!

It really is a lovely, lovely piece

I had one question:

Should

"forming a sort of Catch 22 where everyone believes they are the only prejudiced party."

read

"forming a sort of Catch 22 where everyone believes they are the only persecuted party."?

It's just that most people don't assume that they're prejudiced, but many assume that they're persecuted.

Hmm. I see your point, WebWitch. But I'm not sure straight people who discriminate against bisexual people feel persecuted as such.

So they feel that they're prejudiced? Something about that sentence just ain't right.

And it really stands out because everything else about this article is so damn good and clear. Which is A Good Thing.

Perhaps a better word than prejudices would be judgmental? Hmm...

::thinks::

Inserting the word "prejudiced" instead, we end up asserting that there's a situation in which each group considers themselves to be the only prejudiced group.

What exactly is the sentence meant to convey? That each group considers themselves to be the only bigots, or that each group considers themselves to be the only group being persecuted? I've never run into an entire community that considers itself to be the prejudiced ones - most groups tend to see themselves as put-upon rather than as the put-uponers

WebWitch, you can disagree with what I said. Feel free. But please stop asking what the sentence "was meant to convey." I'm pretty sure I know what was meant. I wrote it.

OK, not trying to be snippy or anything - I've read it over and over, and it just doesn't seem to make sense in context. Not wanting to offend, honestly, because it really is a lovely article. It's that when you ask anyone about whether they're prejudiced, they always deny it (often followed immediately by "but..."). I've never met a group of people who are convinced that they're prejudiced, but maybe I have a limited social life

I've met several people who agreed they were prejudiced, especially when asked specifically if they were. Then they will go on to say that 'people make judgments all the time and it's not necessarily wrong' or 'prejudice can be justified if it's based on behaviour rather than a trait like skin color that you're born with' yadda yadda.

Anyway, that was the intent. As I said, feel free to disagree.

Wow - you've met people who are not defensive! An interesting thing

I do disagree that entire groups - i.e. all straight people, all gay people, all bi people, all trans people - believe themselves to be the only group that is prejudiced; most believe that they're the group being got at, though some individuals see things differently. But hey

Webwitch writes: "I do disagree that entire groups - i.e. all straight people, all gay people, all bi people, all trans people - believe themselves to be the only group that is prejudiced"

You mean, that is prejudiced AGAINST, surely?

As reported at F66440?thread=3978694.

TRiG.

Fragilis, are you still around to discuss this further?

Yes, certainly. The sentence as it now reads isn't as intended. I might instead have said that each party fails to consider whether or how others might pass judgment.

But frankly, after the silliness of this thread, I might simply remove the sentence to be done with it. It's not a vital point anyway.

Nevermind the silliness, just let us know the exact wording you'd like and a curator will put it in.